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What makes it different from others?

Beautiful, moving film.

A Disappointing Continuation

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

One of the things I really liked about "Brainstorm" is that it feels related to "TRON". This is in more than just the technological/corporate themes, but also in the lab scenes and some of the (excellent) locations. Evidently, this is Natalie Wood's final performance (and it's a good one) but the characters are the least engaging aspect of the movie. It has its virtues, but there isn't really anyone here to latch onto; except for one, whose death really gives the movie some emotional weight (thanks to his/her performance). It's the science fiction that takes center stage with this movie. What if two people can share sensory experience through telepathy? What happens when the money men take over the equipment to turn a profit? Even creating a mixtape out of sense data is intriguing. The ideas are the fun part. What's weird is seeing a bored Christopher Walken. 6/10

Indeed, as others reviewers said, the fact of thinking, feeling, and ultimately experimenting as someone else does, it is a suggestive and provocative idea.I think it could have been developed much more, as it has great potential, especially from a psychological point of view. In "Strange Days", the basic idea is the same, and it just happens to be a simple entertainment film.Yet, the movie is quite watchable, thanks to an excellent cinematography ahead of it's time. James Horner's soundtrack is remarkable too.it's a shame that the outcome of the movie is not credible, as well as there was no chemistry between Natalie Wood and Christopher Walken.7/10

Besides the film brainstorm, Douglas Trumbull was also the special effects supervisor for some of the most elaborate movies ever made. Films like 2001 A Space Odyssey, Silent Running, New Magic, and of course the multi-Oscar winning film - Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. Since this was his first directing debut I have to say he did a remarkable job.Later on his career, he went on to do more special effects for other films, but soon fell off the grid. In Brainstorm a scientist Micheal Brace (Christopher Walken) invents a machine to record the complete feelings of another human being. This included emotions, taste, smell, memories, and shocking revelations most people would like to hide away in dark closets.Although the project was going through like a well oiled machine, covert agents wanted to use it for more nefarious purposes, such as the military, or senseless psychological motives for deeper government operations. With the death of his partner in crime Lillian Reynolds (Louise Fletcher) most of the company was now under control by the same people who wanted to use the machine other than communication or education.All in all, I found this to be a very good film. Using actors of very known quality, including Cliff Robertson. The music was top notch, which gives the viewer a more broad scope in vision as well as medium action as well as the expanse into space and beyond. It is too bad the movie did not do so well at the box office. The eighties were in fact a rather tumultuous time where various movies hit the screens. Brainstorm came out at the wrong time.If it waited a few more months I am sure the film would have peaked the interests of the audience with more acceptability. I felt it was a winter film rather than a fall film. It had more ingredients for the cold months. Yet as for Douglas Trumbull, he retired from the scene and went on to create roller coasters for the large amusement parks well into his seventies.It would be nice if he could work on another film project to show us his relentless magic that has wowed the crowds for over five decades, and with films like those Oscar winners, only he could do it without computers. Remarkable man for an undeniably tough business. Highly Recommended for those over 14.

Without a doubt, Brainstorm is one of the best science fiction films of the 80s, together with spectacular imagery and a wonderful story, make this film as unforgettable as Blade Runner, Close Encounters and Star Trek with which the director, Douglas Trumbull, of this film helped master with his experience in jaw-dropping special effects. Although this film never returned it's investment at the box office, we have to remember that, because of the dedication to his film, Douglas Trumbull didn't give up and give in to the insurance companies, who were trying to kill the film, due to the untimely death of Natalie Wood during the shooting of this film. Supposedly Natalie met her untimely demise in a boating accident at sea, which makes the film even more mysterious, since we soon discover that the whole plot begins to revolve around the recorded heart attack, death, and passing of the main researcher Lillian Reynolds played by Louise Fletcher.Long before you may have thought the story might go nowhere, we are slowly pulled into a story of broken dreams due to a failed relationship between the Christopher Walken's and Natalie Wood's characters who play a divorced couple still working on amicable terms for a high tech company on the verge of a major breakthrough.The story begins in the lab as two brilliant researchers Lillian Reynolds (Louise Fletcher) and Michael Brace (Christopher Walken) develop a system of recording and playing back actual experiences of people. Once the capability of tapping into higher brain functions such as thought is added in, one can literally jump into someone else's head and play back recordings of what he/she was thinking, feeling, seeing, in a Memorex fashion. Of course the impractical and practical applications are limitless. We soon find out the company owner Alex Terson (Cliff Robertson) has greater aspirations for his inventions and tries to convince Lillian to work with the FEDs in order to make the invention part of a defensive weapon for later use perhaps during war and espionage. As we follow this story, the applications for the project quickly spiral out of control. Without spoiling the film's final moments, we must give full attention to the detail of the ideals of this extraordinary technology as it changes the character's lives as they once knew, due to misunderstand and mis-communication. Each element of this film makes the previous seem important, sustainable, and impossible, however, when all the elements are finally presented, we feel complete in our understanding of our characters motives and unattainable humanity put into perspective with phenomenal beauty and eloquence.In closing, this film still holds its own after 30 years!